ConnecticutBob.Com is a modest blog on the internet since 2006. Progressive ideas are encouraged, and all politically-minded and reasonable people are welcome. America is the greatest country in the world, but we'll bomb you if you disagree.

Wednesday, May 17, 2017

Robert Mueller served as the head of the FBI for several presidents, and he is praised by members of both parties. I'm fine with him being selected as a Special Council by the DOJ to investigate the Trump-Russia links and other issues.

But I'm kind of bothered by the term "Special Council". Shouldn't he be considered a "Special Prosecutor"? Can someone explain to me the legal definitions of both phrases?

In 1973, Archibald Cox was asked to be Special Prosecutor by Elliot Richardson, who was up for Secretary of Defense, and the Democratic Senate pressured him to get Cox to accept the appointment or Richardson wouldn't get SecDef.

Well, we're living in a very different time...one where we don't have an opposition party in charge of either the House or the Senate as we did back in '73. So in response to the growing media outcry over Trump's dubious deals, the Republican-owned DOJ has made this appointment to Mueller.

And he accepted.

It makes we wonder if this was another terrible decision by a president who makes six terrible decisions before breakfast!

Mueller is the kind of guy who will likely be guided by neither politics nor special interests. He'll hopefully seek only the truth.

And this will make the next several months very interesting! There are several ways it will play out.

1) Mueller will investigate all those areas Donald dreads, and will be blocked from getting any cooperation. And it will look terrible for the president.

2) Mueller will find some damning evidence that Donald did indeed break the law. And it will look terrible for the president.

3) Mueller's investigation will bring about serious impeachment talk, and Donald will fire Mueller. And a modern-day Saturday Night Massacre will look fucking TERRIBLE for the president!

So, that's some of what may transpire. We'll see. Anyway, here's my awesome Congresswoman's statement in favor of Mueller's appointment:

DeLauro Statement on Appointment of Robert Mueller as Special Counsel:

WASHINGTON, DC — Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (CT-03) today released the following statement regarding the appointment of former FBI Director Robert Mueller as Special Counsel to oversee the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.

“From day one, the Trump Administration has been mired in scandal. The appointment of Robert Mueller as Special Counsel to oversee the investigation into Russia’s efforts to influence the 2016 U.S. election is a critical step in a long process. Director Mueller has a long history of distinguished service and integrity.

“We still need an independent commission to investigate Russia’s involvement in our electoral processes, to educate the American public on this assault on our democracy, and to work to develop ways to protect our country in the future.”

Sunday, May 14, 2017

David Bowie's 1997 song "I'm Afraid Of Americans" has a certain resonance during today's political climate. Much of the world agrees with Bowie on this point, although he was aiming for a more sardonic tone here.

The video, featuring Trent Reznor from Nine Inch Nails, is full of violent and aggressive symbolism. Bowie and Reznor collaborated on several projects, and I was lucky to see David Bowie and NIN perform together during a late '90s tour. I had a general admission ticket to the venue, but I crafted some fake wristbands from a promotional magazine that roughly matched the color of the bands given to people who could access the floor directly in front of the stage, and it fooled the bouncers enough that I was able to get it. So I got to see Bowie perform some classics from his past from about 20 feet away, along with a few duets with Reznor and NIN.

Tuesday, May 09, 2017

I'm trying to wrap my brain around this 21st century version of a president who is desperate to keep the dogs at bay.

I can't come up with anything salient or cutting edge because all I can think of are parallels to Richard Nixon.

Nixon, on his worst day, never had less class than Donald Trump on most days.

The bar for being a terrible president has been obliterated by Trump. Nixon was a politician who got caught up in some dumb antics mostly cooked up by his over-zealous group of advisors, and then he doubled down and denied ever being involved. That was bad.

But Trump is profiting from his office in the sleaziest ways possible, and the only reason he's getting away with it so far is that Congress has a majority of impotent yes-men who would gladly surrender their wives and daughters to the president if asked nicely.

Nixon's awfulness has been lessened by comparison.

I have to agree that I'd rather have zombie Nixon's reanimated corpse occupying the Oval Office than that orange weasel we got now!

And this is considering that Nixon is capable of saying stuff like this: